


The Kaiju Effect

by SugahQuill



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Earthborn (Mass Effect), Jaegers (Pacific Rim), Kaiju (Pacific Rim), Sole Survivor (Mass Effect)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-01
Updated: 2016-07-20
Packaged: 2018-07-11 14:20:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7056082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SugahQuill/pseuds/SugahQuill
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five years after the tragic death of Jane Shepard's brother, John, she realizes she must return to the fight she left. Because if the world is coming to an end, she'd much rather die in a Jaegar.</p>
<p>Mass Effect crossed with Pacific Rim.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. From Space

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Hello! This was a funny idea that developed into more of a story. I'm not a fast writer so at worst updates could take up to a month per chapter.

Jane Shepard stretched out her neck, rolling it from side to side. She ran her fingers along the two thin chains she wore around her neck and pulled out two different sets of dog tags so they laid on top of the black t-shirt she wore underneath her grey jumpsuit. The tags were nearly identical except for the first names and individual numbers. She let out a breath and leaned forward, examining the readings being picked up by their instruments from the planet below.

“Scanning the planet now… looks good but it’s mostly Element Zero… not much Palladium,” Shepard reported her findings to the crew that included herself, a half stable biotic human named Jack, and a bottom line Turian Captain.

“We’re here for Palladium,” the captain’s voice said over the intercom. Jane had gotten used to the captain- and people in general- questioning her. That hadn’t always been the case in her career.

“Understood, but Element Zero will always fetch a good price, and we have plenty of cargo space... There’s a research facility not too far away. It would be a quick job that would pay off tremendously,” Jane said.

“The Citadel is commissioning us to get Palladium for their big damn barriers around council space. They’re not going to look kindly on our enterprising,” the captain replied.

Jane looked over at Jack, who wore the same jumpsuit as she did but zipped down so only the pant porition was truly ultilized. Her chest was covered by a bandou. The Captain hardly acknowledged them in person and so Jack saw no point in being appropriately dressed. The biotic woman gave Jane a face and leaned over to respond to the captain using her intercom.

“The Council won’t even look. They got bigger problems to deal with,” Jack told him. The captain said nothing back immediately, he was more open to it now but needed nudging to be convinced. Jane was more than willing to provide that.

“At this rate small commercial mining ships, like ours, won’t even be permitted in this system soon. It’s a miracle our operation hasn’t been shut down yet,” Jane added. Jack and Jane both put their microphones on mute and waited.

“If the fucking council is going to barricade us all behind anti-Kaiju barriers and let those acidic blooded bastards all pile up outside of them until their weight breaks shatters the barriers... then I want as much money as I can get now and blow it all before I die,” Jack said.

“Couldn’t agree with you more,” Jane said.

“What do you think of the council’s plan, anyway?” Jack asked.

“It’s a plan,” Jane told her. Jack studied her for a moment, letting the hum of the ship’s systems fill the air around them. But it grew thicker and more tense with everything Jane hadn’t told Jack regarding her previous occupation. Or her previous life, for that matter.

“Still know anybody in the Jaegar program?” Jack asked her. Jane unconsciously touched the dog tags around her neck.

“Acquaintances… some friends I haven’t spoken to in years,” Jane told her. That was as far as Jack cared to pry. The intercom cracked before the captain’s voice came through again.

“All right, I’ve set up a deal with a nearby research facility. Launch the probes,” the captain told them.. Jane unmuted her mic.

“Will do sir,” she said before launching the probe.

“All gonna be under the table, right captain? Bigger shares that way” Jack asked after unmuting her own microphone.

The pause was long enough to draw in Shepard’s attention in and look over at Jack’s station.

“I’m not acknowledging that question,” the captain said.

….

“We should go rogue. Next time we dock we let the captain get off, work on the repairs and take off with the ship,” Jack said as she moved the container of element zero off the ship.

“Did you forget to say that in our private com channel?” Jane asked her as she lightly knocked on the outside of her helmet.

“You know the first time I met you I was about to write you off as a girl scout until I saw how much you could drink,” she told her.

“Not really something I’m proud of,” Shepard said as she reached out and helped guide the containers along to the sealed door of the facility.

“We’re all going to die from the Mass Relays flinging fucking Kaijus at us but not you. Hell no. Your liver will kill you first,” Jack told her. The facility’s door groaned and opened for them once they reached the entrance. After the door sealed behind them and they popped off their helmets and waited for their contact. Another set of doors opened up and an excited scientist with her safety glasses still on came out to greet them. Jane tucked her helmet underneath her arm and greeted her with a handshake.

“Thank you so much! This’ll really help. It’s been impossible to get the resources we need nowadays,” she said. A few more of the researchers came out to inspect the materials and help unload.

“That’s not a surprise, you realize you’re in the ass-end of space, right?” Jack told the scientist.

“Yes, it’s not like we can just pick up and move. We’ve been here for years,” she told Jack, she was taken back by Jack’s manner. Everyone typically was.

“I admire your tenacity,” Jane told her.

“It’s not just the inability to easily move, retreating back behind a barrier isn’t what we should be doing. It’s not what anyone here believes in doing, hiding and staying safe. Besides, concentrating everyone into over populated areas is a horrible idea. We’re making it easy for the Kaiju to wipe us out. If we spread out we stand a better chance of surviving,” the scientist said.

“In theory, you’re right. But who is willing to risk their safety or take it in their own hands after all the devastation that’s gone on already?” Jane said. The scientist was ready to discuss this further, and Jane started to regret that she had said anything. She still wasn’t able to bury her feelings and ideas. Jane still cared about the war effort against the Kaiju though she it was painful for her.

Jane looked for Jack to see if they were ready to leave. Jack was standing still and looking up at one of the facility’s monitors. The audio was low and distorted, but it didn’t need to be clear for Jane to guess what sort of footage was playing on the screen. A massive Kaiju taking up most of the screen was tearing down a coastal human city. It had been some time since she’d been on earth, but the sky over the human homeworld wasn’t one she could easily forget.

“Oh God… Earth had a barrier in place… it was one of the first ones finished,” The scientist said looking at the screen. The Kaiju had sustained damage from breaking through the Earth’s barrier but nothing fatal enough to deter it. As it dragged its heavy body towards the city, a Jaegar sprinted out to meet it.

Jane walked closer to the monitor to get a better look. Jaegars were impressive to anyone, though more so to an old-has-been, who could appreciate its speed, design, and durability. The technical had certainly improved since her days… didn’t mean the old models were irrelevant or that the pilots were beyond her skill level. Not that it mattered to her… no, it shouldn’t matter. She was out and she wasn’t going back to it.

Jane watched as the two Jaegar pilots took down the Kaiju. She sighed from relief when it was done but the pit that had formed in her stomach wasn’t going away. If Kaijus had managed to break through the barriers specifically designed to be impenetrable against them, what the hell were they supposed to do now? The Council’s best idea wasn’t good enough. And deep down Jane had known this all along.

“Well, we’re out of a job,” Jack said, almost too casually. She turned to look at Shepard, the seriousness of the situation went beyond their unemployment and the casualness Jack used to deal with it was not well appreciated. Jack was relentless though.

“Drop the captain off here and go rogue?” Jack asked her. Jane wasn’t able to let this roll off her as easily as Jack could. She would always be stuck in the fray no matter how far away she tried to run from it.

“If want to do it so badly… then go for it,” Jane said. She was anxious and not interested in the planet they were on or the sale anymore. She headed back to the ship, leaving Jack to wrap up the deal. 

Their Turian Captain had his arms crossed and his back resting against the wall of the cargo bay, waiting right where she’d see him once she boarded.His mandible twitched, a clear sign he was unhappy about something.

“Going to leave me here and steal my ship?” he asked her in a sharp tone.

“I’m not the one you need to worry about,” Shepard told him as she walked past him and headed to the workbench.

“You’re both getting off at Omega. There isn’t a job for you anymore. You’re both are lucky this side job worked out,” he told Shepard. He watched as she stopped in the galley and rested her palms on the edge of the table and lowered her head. The captain shook his head at her and walked off.

She took her helmet off again and placed in on the work surface. She touched the side of her face where a faint scar ran across her skin. Jane looked down at the two sets of dog tags and closed her fist around them. Behind her the door opened and shut, Jack was back already.

“What a shame, you made it back before I could take off and make you a permanent resident of this planet” the captain said over the intercom as he fired up the engines. Jack scoffed.

“It doesn’t matter where we are anymore. Nowhere is safe,” she said.

“We’re getting off at Omega… right back where we started,” Jane told her.

“At least no one gives a shit about anything on Omega,” Jack said trying to be reassuring.

….

Shepard threw her bag over her shoulder and nodded to Jack when she was ready go. There was a place they’d stayed at before that might take them back. Especially now that Omega looked less crowded than it had the last time they were in port. Most of the remaining population had either been born here and was too stubborn to leave or they were too poor to go anywhere else.

Others stayed sought out the advantages in a panicking and changing world.

“Fuck this day, let’s get a drink,” Jack said. Shepard was tired and ready to try and get some sleep. But she knew it would be futile no matter how hard she tried or how tired she really was. There were monsters, literal monsters, at their door and no promise of a next pay check. If they went to Afterlife for a drink they might be able to pick up some work or a temporary distraction. Either might help her sleep tonight.

Bypassing the line out front, the two women went straight through the back door and into the lower bar. Omega’s streets might have thinned, but the crowd at Afterlife was unaffected.

In the lower bar, an intoxicated Batarian laid down in a booth by himself, holding his head as he groaned. Jack grabbed onto his arms and dragged him off the booth and onto the floor next to it. There was no reason why a single person who have a booth for at least a party of four, especially if they weren’t even drinking. She wiped her hands together and looked at her companion, Jane.

“Got us a table. Get us some drinks?” she asked Shepard.

“Sure thing,” she said looking down at the Batarian before stepping over him.

The only open space at the bar counter was next to a Turian wearing blue armor. To Jane he stuck out a from the rest of the crowd, he didn’t seem to be a resident. He didn’t seem to have the grit that everyone else had here. She’d been like that when she first arrived on Omega and it caused her trouble until her shine wore off. He was new here, yet he didn’t seem as unfamiliar as some did. The Turian was engrossed in a thin blue screen covering his left eye. He paid that more attention than his untouched drink.

Shepard stood next to him and leaned forward on the counter to get the Batarian bartender’s attention. She ignored the Turian because he was uncomfortably familiar for being a complete stranger. She didn’t want to know what action or misfortune landed him on Omega. Jane did her best to ignore him, but she noticed he had a passive interest in her. Had she acknowledged him, she might have noticed the particular insert he had on dog tags she wore around her neck.

The Batarian bartender’s mouth twitched and formed a frown, that was when Shepard knew she had his attention, even if it was fleeting. She quickly motioned at him for two shots.

“I heard it’s dangerous for humans in the lower bar of Afterlife…” the Turian beside her spoke.

“Really? Well I can make it dangerous for Turians too,” Shepard lifted her chin up and stared at the ceiling for a moment before turning to look at him. She didn’t need some newbie Turian telling her to watch her back on Omega. He wasn’t exactly how she had pinned him for. He had severe scarring on the right side of his jaw. His voice was not as gruff, monotone, or strange as some of the Turians she’d met. It was possible his words weren’t meant as a threat. Still, this man had been through something. Either proving that he was easy to beat or hard to kill. She was leaning towards the later. 

“Ha, no. What I meant to say is... be careful,” he said, his eye focusing on the Batarian who had set down two full shot glasses in front of Shepard. She clenched her teeth and her mouth twisted into a frown. His ‘warning’ wasn’t appreciated at all. On a better day she might have let it go and walked away. But there was something about him that rubbed her the wrong way. Something about the way he spoke made it seem like he knew her on a deeper level. Maybe she understood him a little that way to. How that could even be possible made her feel exposed and uncomfortable. She wasn’t in the mood for whatever game he was playing.

“A Kaiju just ripped through Earth’s barrier. The very barrier that was supposed to protect us all from Kaiju attack. And now that it’s a failure I’ve lost my job mining palladium for their construction. So if you’re looking for a fight, go outside right now and I’ll come find you,” she told him before quickly throwing back her own shot and slamming it down onto the bar. Shepard pushed herself away from the bar and headed back towards Jack. She had buried her troubled past too deep and now it had broken to the surface, unresolved and scorching. Her vision started to blur from the rage she she felt and her head started to pound. She knew how strong an emotion could ravage the body but this was not a normal reaction.

Shepard felt her insides twist and cramp. Her grip around the shot glass suddenly loosened and she realized that maybe this wasn’t an outpouring of emotion at all and something completely unrelated.

_‘I heard it’s dangerous for humans in the lower bar of Afterlife… be careful’_

She tried to steady herself and fight against the sudden weight and loss of control of her body. She blacked out before she hit the floor.

The Turian extended his arm and fired a single shot through one of the Batarian’s eyes. The bartender hit the back of the shelves before collapsing to the ground. Jack was on her feet in a matter of seconds, energy gathered around her closed fists. The other patrons stopped their activities and stared in bewilderment. Even the dancers paused to see what was going on.

“Did you… kill him?” A Turian patron asked the man in blue armor.

“Yeah, thought I'd save everyone else the trouble,” he said. Jack raised an eyebrow and let the energy around her hands dissipate. She got down on the ground next to Jane and searched for a pulse.

The unarmored Turian looked down at the Batarian and then at Shepard on the ground. The patrons, more or less, went back to what had previously engaged them. Except for a nimble Asari dancer who got off the table she was on and casually left the lower bar area.

“Guess he had it coming,” he said with a shrug. No one seemed to care about the loss of one vengeful Batarian. The Turian in blue armor took a few steps towards Jack and the unconscious Jane. Jack didn't look at first, but she did pay attention to how long he stood there not saying a word.

“Is she alive?” He finally asked.


	2. On Omega

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A mentor from Shepard's past shows up in the most unlikeliest of places.

_“Jane… Jane, get up, you're not dead...”_

The voice Jane heard calling to her was muffled and distant at first. Slowly she recognized it as Jack’s and the darkness became blurry dimness. Then there was another voice, unfamiliar and definitely alien. Low with a flanging tone to it, Turian. Was it their Captain? Had their mining ship been attacked? But hadn’t they left already?

Jane jolted awake and coughed from the quick intake of breath. She wasn’t on the ship anymore. She was on Omega.

Jack looked as surly as ever, which didn’t give Jane a hint of what led them to this situation. But the voice she hadn't recognized was the Turian in blue armor at the bar. Now she was starting to remember.

Shepard looked down, she was in the back alley right outside the Afterlife. Further down the alley she heard Vorcha barking at each other... Jane moved to sit up and felt a searing pain in her head. Maybe she didn’t want to remember how she’d gotten here. She could only remember having one drink but how could that have knocked her out?

“Ugh, that feels like it was a lot more than one shot… ” she said as she held her head.

“That bartender poisoned you. He killed my friend a week ago. I’m impressed you pulled through,” a human man Jane hadn't seen earlier told her. He stood nearby but not as close as the Turian and Jack were to her.

“He won't be a problem anymore,” the Turian said, his attention still on Jane. The man gave out a laugh and smiled.

“Bastard had it coming, wish I'd been there to see it,” he said before moving on. Jane watched the man leave with her eyelids heavy, then laid back down and covered her eyes with the palm of her hand. She let out an exasperated sigh.

“Not the first time you've almost died, is it?” The Turian asked.

“How’d you figure that out?” Jane asked with her hand still over her eyes.

“Lucky guess… Is your name... Shepard?” He asked her. She lowered her hand from his face and looked him in his beady eyes. If a stranger on Omega knew who you were that wanted something from you. What reason was there to care about them enough to learn their name? She was hesitant but more curious than cautious. And if he just shot the Batarian who had tried to kill her he definitely earned her attention.

“It is,” she answered carefully. His face seem to relax but he was befuddled by something.

“My name is Garrus Vakarian. Admiral Anderson is looking for you,” he told her. Shepard’s face softened at first from the name of her old friend. But she hardened her expression quickly as she pulled her legs up and started to stand up. Anderson was too busy to stop by and say ‘hi’ to a washed up pilot like her. Jack took her hand and helped her off the ground.

“Admiral Anderson has things he should be more concerned about then finding me,” she told him. The Turian only looked at her. His reaction wasn’t what he had been hoping for, but it seemed as if he realized it was what he should have expected. Either her time working with a Turian had made her more acutely aware of the species body language or Vakarian was just easier to read.

“Thanks for shooting that bartender,” Shepard told him. She took a cautious step forward followed by another one. Once she knew she was steady she started to walk away.

Jack walked beside her bubbling with anger and confusion until she couldn’t keep it in anymore.

“Now what the fuck? We stand in line for the upper bar?” Jack asked Shepard gritted her teeth a little. Of all the shit today, waiting in a line was the problem Jack was vocalizing?

“Or we call it a day and find a place to rest,” Jane told her.

“No. Yours was poisoned, but you still got a drink. I haven't,” Jack told her. Jane took a sharp turn away from the corridor to the apartments and dragged herself up the stairs behind Jack. Despite her annoyance with Jack, she was the only person Jane had. Jack wouldn’t have stuck around they way she just had for Jane with just anyone.

“All right, my treat then,” she told Jack.

At the very back of the line to Afterlife, Jack fixed her glare on the backs of the people in front of them, willing them to move. It worked on a few.

Shepard was still a bit dazed. Had the Turian really told her that Anderson was looking for her or had that been imagined? There was only one sensical reason Anderson might be looking for her. Desperation. She wasn’t ready to be anyone’s last hope.

Jane didn’t dwell on it much longer, a Batarian heading straight for them got her attention. If she wasn’t mistaken, he was one of Aria’s guards and Jane had just been involved in the murder of one of his brethren. Jane rested her hand on her Carnifex pistol just in case.

“You, Aria, now,” the Batarian said to Shepard. Jane slowly looked over to Jack.

“Could have been in bed sleeping…” She grumbled to her.

“Then you would have been woken up and dragged to Aria,” the guard told her. Shepard sized the guard up but decided not to show him just how difficult dragging her anywhere would be for him.

“I’ll be right back,” Jane said, stepping out of the line. Jack shook her head and followed closely behind Jane.

“Nope. I’m taking this opportunity to jump the line and get into the club,” Jack said.

“Do you remember the one cardinal rule on Omega?” Jane said.

“Yeah, don't fuck with Aria. I’m fucking this line not her. Think this is about the dead Batarian from the lower bar?” Jack asked her.

“I doubt she’d be choked up about a dead Batarian, maybe she’s apologizing for him trying to kill me,” she said.

“Yeah, that’ll never happen. Have fun,” Jack told her before splitting ways once they entered the club. Jane shook her head and climbed up the set of stairs to the upper area Aria resided. The fluorescent lights surrounding them were bright, casting shadows on the Asari and two unfamiliar figures sitting with.

“You wanted to see me?” Shepard asked.

“Not necessarily me…” Aria said told her. Out of the shadows a tall middle aged man with dark military trimmed hair emerged.

“Shepard,” he said. Jane immediately knew who this man was. He wasn’t dressed in his fatigues or uniform but he didn’t need to be for her to recognize him.

“Anderson,” she greeted him. Then the other figure… It was the Turian from before. She guessed she wasn't surprised to see Anderson after Vakarian had informed her he was looking for her. But to see him on Omega of all places, sitting right next to Aria? This was bizarre.

Shepard crossed her arms and leaned back on one hip.

“You’re one of the last people I ever expected to run into on Omega... very last,” she told him.

“You're a hard person to find. It's good to see you again, Shepard,” he told her as her stood up to shake her hand. The old cadence of her earlier life came back. She stood up straight but instead of saluting she put out her hand and shook his.

“Jane Shepard, you’ve met Garrus Vakarian. He’s been a consultant on special project within the Jaegar program,” Anderson introduced them. Vakarian stood up and Jane shook his three fingered talon hand.

“If I would have known you were in the neighborhood Anderson, I would have stopped by,” Shepard said looking at Vakarian.

“My proximity wasn't exactly something he was free to disclose,” Anderson said, his eyes went to Aria who was staring down Shepard.

“Shepard… not what I was expecting. Scan ‘em,” Aria ordered her guards. The Turian guard scanned her, but not without some resistance from Shepard. Anderson’s face tensed but he said nothing to her.

“A match to Jane Shepard, earthborn… deceased,” the guard replied.

“Well I must be the quickest reported death on Omega. I was hardly out for five minutes,” Shepard said. Aria narrowed her eyes.

“I was expecting a man, John Shepard. The Alliance reported Jane’s… or your death five years ago,” Aria said. Jane looked at Anderson.

“There’s a clerical error. Jane was mistaken for John. It can't be corrected until you prove your existence in person,” Anderson told her.

“And is that what I’m here for?” Shepard asked Anderson. He took in a deep breath. Vakarian looked from Anderson to Shepard.

“From what I’ve seen in the Alliance’s records the two of you were practically identical,” Vakarian said as he pulled out his datapad. Shepard looked away from Anderson and at Vakarian. Rude, Jane knew the difference between a male and female Turian.

“Except my brother liked crosswords, I was more of a sudoku person and… genitals, but that’s hardly a difference between two humans,” Jane crossed her arms and scowled a little. Aria let out a dry laugh.

“Height and weight too…” Vakarian said, looking down at the records he had pulled up on his datapad. He looked up at Shepard who stared him down. He didn’t flinch at all.

“So Anderson, losing pilots faster than you can train them? Or did you just miss this one’s personality?” Aria asked. Shepard was curious to know why as well.

“The Jane Shepard I know is a damn good pilot. I hope that hasn't changed,” Anderson said.

“Well, if she’s all you need Anderson… apparently I have a staffing problem in the lower bar that needs to be addressed,” Aria’s eyes were locked onto Vakarian. Her hospitality was running out. The Admiral stood up along with Vakarian who now seemed more than ready to leave.

“We need you back Shepard. We really do,” he told her.

“It's been a long time since I've piloted a Jaegar,” she told him.

“Come with us to Arcturus Station and make up your mind there,” Anderson told her. Shepard stood up and gave Anderson a wary look. She had left the Alliance and the Jaegar program never intending on returning. But she couldn’t outright refuse him. Anderon, even Vakarian… something about going with them felt right regardless of how much she tried to convince herself it wasn’t.

“Don't forget our deal Anderson,” Aria said to The Admiral as he turned to walk away. Anderson nodded.

“I haven't,” he told her.

“Come on Shepard,” Anderson walked past Jane and headed towards the exit. Jane met Aria’s eyes one last time. They were cold and impatient for a woman who had centuries longer than Shepard to live. Yet with the ways things were now, everything could be cut short. Aria had much more to lose than Jane did.

Vakarian waited for Shepard to follow Anderson. Finally she headed down the stairs, the Turian a few steps behind. She looked around for Jack as she made her way to the exit but didn't see her anywhere in the bar. That was because Jack was waiting outside of Afterlife for Jane, angry with her arms crossed and leaning against a wall.

“Hey,” Jack called out to Jane. Anderson stopped and looked back at Shepard. She motioned with her hand to him that this would only be a second and headed in Jack’s direction.

“Military people can hardly disguise themselves in public… that guy’s Alliance, isn’t he?” Jack asked her.

“Yeah, my old commanding officer,” Jane said.

“You’re going back to the Alliance aren’t you,” she said. Shepard shook her head and looked down. It sure as hell looked and felt that way.

“I’m not making any decisions yet, just… seeing something and figuring out what to do from there,” Jane said.

“Aria fucking rounded you up and turned you in. What she’d get for you?” Jack said.

“She got something… but I don’t think it was for me. At most I’m a consolation prize,” Jane said. Jack’s short laugh showed she was unconvinced by that.

“‘So this Alliance type left council space for a consolation prize? That Turian killed a Batarian, dragged your ass out of the bar, and stuck around long enough to see if you’d wake up again. He gives a little bit of a shit about you for no reason that you know of,” Jack said. Jane looked back at Anderson and Vakarian in her peripheral. She still doubted she was the sole part of any deal Anderson made with Aria. The thought that she might be made her feel guilty.

“I think he’s desperate. He needs to do something and he’s running out of manpower and time,” Jane said.

“He’s pulling you back in… and you’re making it easy for him,” Jack said. Jane wasn’t on Anderson’s shuttle yet and she already saw herself leaving Omega and not coming back.

“It’s been five years… and I never left that damn cockpit,” Jane told her.

“And what’s going to happen when you actually get back into that cockpit?” Jack asked her. Jane’s eyes flashed at Jack, then Jane quickly looked away. Jack studied her for a moment before lifting her chin up to speak.

“I think you should go. Fuck, we’re all gonna die, you want it to be on Omega?” Jack told her.

“It almost was. But no… I don’t. What about you though?” Jane asked her.

“What about me? I don’t need you or your shit. My life’s probably going to get easier without you in it,” Jack told her. Jane nearly rolled her eyes, but Jack was right. She was probably one of the last people Jane should be worried about. She chuckled a little and looked at her.

“Then I’ll see you when I see you,” Shepard told her. Jack remained with her arms crossed over her chest. She looked down at Shepard’s hand as it lifted for a moment to offer a handshake. Shepard dropped her arm to her side, quickly realizing that gesture was going to be denied.

“Try not to die out there. If you do, take ‘em all with you,” Jack told her.

“Shepard?” Anderson called out to her. Jane nodded her head and turned away to rejoin Anderson.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sneaking this in before it's been a month!
> 
> Hopefully my pace will increase. Sort of got caught up in making a first human spectre cosplay and meeting Jennifer Hale and... dorking out in front of her.
> 
> Thank you all for the views, kudos, comments, and bookmarks! I'm so happy to hear from other people who find this idea entertaining.


	3. To Arcturus Station

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard faces the past and sees her future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to give a special thanks to my friend and beta reader rc1788. She's been a tremendous help with editing especially with this chapter where I had to start setting things up more. 
> 
> She likes writing about Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, please check out her story "Bucky Barnes's Seven Days in Brooklyn!"

It wasn’t a Jaegar anymore, it was scrap, scattered all over Alchera. Shepard had pulled herself out of what remained of the cockpit. Her yelps of pain were muffled by her helmet. Her envirosuit was keeping her together and alive, but just barely and for not very much longer.

The hulking Kaiju, Knifehead, let out its last growl yards away from her. It had crashed to the surface of the planet, just like her, and it still had life in it if only for a moment. If she had had the strength, she would have killed it again.

She was getting colder. And just as she resigned to dying on the same day as her brother a blue shuttle appeared with a unnerved and sarcastic pilot.

It had been five years since Alchera, her brother’s death, and the little blue Kodiak that had rescued her. Maybe the Kodiak she was riding in now was saving her too. Jane looked across at the Turian sitting in front of her and tried to think of something to say. All this silence was making her mind wander to events she didn’t want to relive again. Vakarian stared back at her, then his eyes went to her hand, fiddling with the tags that hung around her neck.

“Are those your brother’s tags you're wearing around your neck?” Vakarian asked. Shepard looked down at them for a moment before she let them go.

“Yes, and my own,” she told him. It was the only part they had found of John. She rarely took them off. First it was a sentiment, then it was so she would never take them off and forget about them, or him. They were such a part of her now that she felt unsettled when they weren’t on.

Vakarian must have seen the tags at some point, either at the bar or when she was passed out on the ground. That was probably how he was able to identified her.

“Did you know to look for a woman?” She asked Vakarian.

“Yes… But I was a little skeptical,” he told her. Her eyes narrowed a little and her mouth formed into a thin line, she was not impressed by that response.

“Not quite what you expected either?” She asked him.

“It’s not that, I mean, not you. Despite what I said earlier about you and your brother being nearly identical, reporting someone dead who's really alive is a pretty big error. And being mistaken for dead for five years? Seems like a pretty hard thing to do,” He asked her.

“Can’t always trust the reports. You can get away with a lot in the Terminus System. But I never realized the Alliance had me down as dead. I wouldn’t have corrected it if I’d known though,” she told him. She gave him a have frown. At the time, Jane was fine being considered dead by the Alliance. 

“Says a lot about the requirements for getting a job in the Terminus System,” Vakarian joked, trying to lighten the mood. Jane gave him a small smile.

“If you make it through the first mission alive you get the job,” Shepard told him.

“You're… Not what I pictured from reading your records,” he told her.

“Really, better or worse than you thought?” Shepard asked as she sat up. Vakarian chuckled a little.

“Certainly more charming than these statistics could ever tell me,” Vakarian told her. Anderson looked back at them from the front of the shuttle.

“Recklessness, tendency to disobey orders, and inability to hold back. That wasn’t enough to tell you?” Anderson said. He moved from the copilot to the back of the shuttle to sit down with the two of them.

“And knowing all that, you still want me back,” Shepard said to him. She wasn’t sure she believed this herself. Recorded dead or not, she just assumed Anderson left her alone because she had gone through enough. Or worse, that he saw her as a lost cause. Shepard couldn’t blame him for thinking that though.

“You're a damn lucky fool and a helluva pilot. I can't teach anyone what you do naturally. But, I do need to know you'll be able to get back into a Jaegar without being a danger to you or your copilot… If you do decide to be reinstated,” Anderson caught himself getting ahead of the situation.

He didn't need to. She knew where she was supposed be and it was here.

“Whatever tests or evaluations you need to do,” she told him.

….

While the SSV Tokyo was enroute to Arcturus station, Shepard took the opportunity to clear any concerns Anderson might have about her condition and headed to the medbay to be examined by the ship’s physician. Fortunately she was just as confused by the clerical error as Shepard had been.

“For being ‘dead’ for five years, you’re in outstanding condition,” Doctor Karin Chakwas told Shepard as she moved her scanner aside. Shepard sat up on the cot and moved her legs so they hung over the side.

“Now those scars… they’re much more healed that I last recall. The medbay on Arcturus Station is better equipped, I can heal them completely there, if you’d like,” Dr. Chakwas told her.

“But a more positive outlook and relaxation should help you heal them on your own,” Chakwas told her. Shepard lightly touched the side of her face where a few scars still remained. This was not the place or job to take for rest and relaxation. 

“That might end up being difficult to do,” Shepard told her. She stood up and put her jacket back on. Chakwas thinned her lips and crossed her arms.

“I know you’ll try your best. You’re cleared for duty, physically,” There was slight hesitation in Chakwas’ voice.

“Is that going to be enough for the Admiral?” Shepard asked. She wanted the woman to be honest with her. Chakwas knew Shepard well beyond medical scans and blood work. She had also known her brother too. Jane turned to look at Karin when the older woman hadn’t said anything immediately. Her lips were pressed together as she took in a steady breath through her nose and then let it out through her mouth.

“Anderson has nothing to worry about. But Shepard, you can talk to me if you need too. There is a psychologist on Arcturus as well,” Karin told her.

“Thank you, Chakwas. I’m not going to lie, I am a little anxious about coming back to everything. Especially without John. Connecting to another person like that again… is it even going to be possible?” Jane asked the doctor. Before Karin was able to respond the door to the medbay slid open and the Turian, Vakarian, walked inside.

“Shepard, we’re coming up on Arcturus Station,” he told her.

“Take care Shepard, and don’t wait until you’re injured to come visit me again,” Chakwas said to Shepard.

Jane left with Vakarian and walked to the elevator. It opened, to show Anderson was already onboard and headed down to the shuttle bay with them. They got inside and stood behind the Admiral side by side.

“So, you’re a Turian Consultant working with the Alliance’s Jaegar Program. I thought the Turians saw the Jaegars as an _‘inefficient’_ and _‘ridiculous’_ way to destroy the Kaiju,” Shepard said to him. Anderson looked up at the ceiling of the elevator and then down at his sleeve, he tugged on it a little, straightening it out.

“I’ve been convinced that maybe you humans have a legitimate strategy… whether or not it’s been fully realized is another thing,” he told her.

“Right... So you believe Turians might need more to defend themselves than barriers and fighter ships then?” she asked him.

“I do. We’re using and losing more fighters with each Kaiju event in our territories. They’re getting stronger, memorizing our attack patterns and testing our defenses for weaknesses... our current strategies are no longer optimal,” Garrus told her.

“So what exactly are you consulting on?” Shepard asked. He looked at her, he had a cool excitement about him in regards to the subject.

“You’ll see soon enough,” he told her. The elevator came to a stop and Anderson walked out first. The SSV Tokyo was already docked and the hatch was opening. Shepard walked down the platform. She lifted her eyes up once she found her footing on the ramp, and locked her gaze onto a tall steel blue machine. It’s immense size made it appear closer than it actually was. One arm was connected to the body and the other hung in the air right beside it. The chest plate was complete as mechanics fine tuned the heart of the Jaegar. Shepard was instantly drawn to it.

“Well, what do you think?” Anderson asked her. The question went in one ear and out the other. If she would have taken a moment to look at the Admiral she might have seen him smiling as he looked at her. The Jaegar seemed more elongated than ones she had seen built before. It was broad shouldered, sturdy, yet elegant in its design.

“This Jaegar is what humans and Turians can build together,” Anderson explained. Shepard heard him that time. She kept her eyes on the Jaegar as she walked towards it. If John could have seen this…

She’d see it for him now and tell him about it when she saw him on the other side.

Red and gold sparks shot into the air as the mechanics worked on the core of the machine. Shepard caught Vakarian looking up at the Jaegar with the same quiet wonderment she seemed to have.

“We’re calling it the Normandy,” Anderson told Shepard. He looked pleased with her reaction and she smirked at him.

“I’ve been waiting to see what it can do in a fight,” Vakarian told her.

“So this is what you’ve been consulting on. I didn’t take you for an engineer,” Shepard told him.

“I’m not,” he told her. Vakarian walked with her towards the Normandy. Anderson would have joined them but was stopped by a soldier who saluted the admiral before passing him a datapad and engaging him in conversation. Neither Shepard nor Vakarian seemed to notice his absence.

“Really? Tell me about yourself then,” she said with interest. She climbed up a set of stairs and made her way to a railing to get a better look at the Normandy. Garrus followed her.

“Born on Palaven, military training at 15, infiltrator. Then I joined C-Sec, like my father,” Garrus said. He watched her lean against the railing with her eyes studying every part of the giant machine.

“Should have guessed you were a cop… they usually don’t shoot first though,” Jane said to him.

“I saw you collapse and just reacted… anyway I don’t think I really had the temperament for it in the end,” Vakarian told her.

How did you get from C-Sec to here?” she asked him.

“I lost my family in a Kaiju attack on Palaven,” Garrus told her. She looked away from the Jaegar and at him.

“I’m sorry,” Shepard said sympathetically. She stood up from the railing, focused on him now. He felt a little uncomfortable and leaned forward on the rail so he didn’t make direct eye contact with her. Shepard watched as Vakarian looked up at the Normandy with fierce determination and hope in his eyes.

“I hated not being able to do anything about it on the Citadel, so I left C-Sec. I reenlisted and when our strategies were no longer adequate, I pushed for a collaboration with the Alliance,” Vakarian told her.

“Why the humans and not the Asari or Salarians?” Shepard asked him. Given their species histories together it didn’t really make sense for the Humans to be the first choice.

“Turians and Humans approach conflict in a similar way… Which has caused some of the problems between our species in the past,” Garrus told her.

“I see what you mean,” she told him.

“The Asari and Salarians were focused on a more ‘permanent’ and indirect solutions. The Migrant Fleet is relatively unaffected by the Kaiju and they have other problems to deal with. And the Krogan…” Garrus looked past Shepard. She turned to look over her shoulder to see what had got his attention and saw two Krogans standing under the shadow of a massive and heavily fortified Jaegar. The two butted heads and roared… joyously?

“A short bad history with the humans is better than our long one with the Krogans,” Garrus told her.

“The council sanctioned the development of a Human and Turian Jaegar before the defensive barriers took off,” Vakarian told her.

“Turians and Humans working together… I wonder if Anderson thought he’d ever see this day,” Shepard said.

“Two species who shot at each other when they first met now building a massive war machine together… it’s a beautiful way to start over,” Vakarian told her. Shepard looked at him and chuckled.

“It looks like a Turian too,” Shepard said. She leaned forward and traced the outline of the Jaegar in the air with her finger.

“Same silhouette, the carapace around the head…” Shepard told him. She slowly turned her head to see Vakarian looking at her. Jane wouldn’t say his gaze made her uneasy, but there was something about it that put her on edge.

“The legs are more human, hands too,” he said. She spread out her fingers and looked down at the back of her hand.

“Because why give it three fingers when you could put on five,” Shepard told him.

“A waste of resources. It’s four more digits to motorized, control, and inevitably fix and replace. You can do everything you need to with just three on each hand,” he told her. Shepard put her hands together, folded down her to middle fingers, rotated her hands, and then held them both clasped together above her head and wiggled her two middle fingers. Vakarian laughed at her.

“That’s impressive Shepard, but my point still stands,” he said.

“For now… so, who’s my copilot?” Shepard asked him. He looked down at his omni-tool.

“There, I’ve sent you the dossiers of each of the candidates. I haven’t been involved in that part of the process,” he told her.

“Alenko… Vega… Williams…” Shepard said as she quickly skimmed the dossier of each of them.

“I'd like your help getting her calibrated for human pilots. It won't be perfect until you have your copilot but at least I'll have a rough idea. I realized recently I've calibrated for Turians,” he told her. Shepard smiled and turned her body to face him better.

“Why aren't you or another Turian piloting the Normandy?” Shepard asked him.

“That would mean two rookie pilots instead of one… not to say we’d be incompetent… the Turian Hierarchy doesn't want to spare any pilots for this project… especially after the council’s focus switched to the barriers,” Garrus told her. Something she said resounded in him though. Her brow furrowed. She wasn't being convinced.

“Besides, the Turians can’t do everything in this joint venture,” Vakarian told her. It looked like he was not only coming up with excuses for her, but for himself as well.

“I don’t know, there’s something about you that makes me believe you’d be an excellent Jaegar pilot,” Shepard told him. His mandibles fluttered as he smiled at her but he said nothing in response.

Heading towards their location was Anderson, finally free from everyone.

“Shepard! Well, what do you think?” he called up to her.

“The Normandy looks incredible,” she told him. Their back and forth had attracted the two Krogans who had been beneath stockier first generation Jaegar, Kalros. Garrus caught sight of them before Anderson and Shepard did.

“Shepard?” one of the Krogans called up to Jane. She looked down and squinted to see if she recognized the Krogan.

“Wrex?” Shepard said in a similar questioning tone.

“Shepard!!” He said excitedly.

“Wrex!” Shepard couldn’t help but smile.

“I thought you died!” he told her. Shepard headed back down the steps and towards the old Krogan male. Vakarian followed her.

“No, my records were confused with my brother’s,” Jane explained.

“Huh?” Wrex asked.

“There was a clerical error,” Jane told him.

“I’ve never seen a clerical error crush a human like that,” he told her. Jane quickly realized were not referring to the same thing. He was recalling the condition she had been found in years ago.

“Oh… after Knifehead?” she asked him.

“Yeah! You squishy humans only have single set of major organs after all,” he told he. The Krogan that accompanied Wrex hadn’t muttered a word. His eyes were fixed on Shepard and she could no longer ignore it. Shepard looked back at the Krogan. He looked different than most she’d encountered. Wrex looked at his silent companion.

“This baby pyjak is my copilot. Grunt, this is Jane Shepard. I lost a lot money when I bet against her being able to swallow a shot of ryncol and live,” Wrex explained.

“And I piloted a Jaegar with my brother and fought beside Wrex on a number of missions,” Jane said, preferring that she be known for something other than drinking.

“Eh, not as impressive,” Wrex said. Shepard raked her fingers through her hair and grimaced at him.

“So, you gonna show this Turian what to do with a Jaegar?” Wrex asked Shepard. She looked at Vakarian.

“That’s the plan,” she said as she crossed her arms.

“Good to know you’re really onboard, I’m looking forward to seeing how you utilize the Normandy’s stealth drive in combat then,” Vakarian challenged her.

“Stealth drive?” Shepard asked. That was certainly new. Was it even necessary?

“Ha! Turians putting in a stealth drive in a Jaegar. Sounds about right,” Wrex said.

“What's the point of it?” Grunt asked.

“Make it easier for them to run I bet,” Wrex said to Grunt.

“A stealth drive adds a new tactical level for space combat...” Vakarian started to explain. But he hesitated as he wondered if his defense for the stealth drive would be lost on these battered and unimaginative Krogans.

“Definitely. Surprise attacks, undetected flanking maneuvers... the better we get at stopping Kaiju in space before they can even get planetside the better,” Shepard said in agreement with the Turian. She had his attention and his mandible almost agape.

“Just because it works in a simulator won’t mean it will in a real fight. But hey, it’s your Jaegar Shepard and you haven’t died yet,” Wrex said.

“Yours and another pilot’s,” Anderson added as he looked at Shepard

Alenko, Vega, Williams. She should meet them soon.


End file.
